The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Banking is child’s play!
Poor students of Araghar-2 manage their Hamara Bank and through it fund their education
Dehradun, April 10
It is true that managing accounts is not a child’s play, but it is also true that where there is a will there is a way. The unique project of running a banking system in a school has set an example for other institutions in Doon valley. These schools are also planning to begin such schemes to help children fund their own stationery and uniforms.

Students deposit money in Hamara Bank at Dharampur in Dehradun. A Tribune photograph

GB Pant varsity comes to aid of farmers
To forecast crop prices before sowing and during harvesting
Nainital, April 10
The Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology has undertaken an ambitious project aimed at informing farmers about the prices of their produces even before sowing crops.

Death of Sherwood College Students
Political parties seek action against institution’s top brass
Nainital, April 10
The storm over the death of two students of Sherwood College in a road accident last week refuses to die down with a host of local organisations and political units seeking action against the top brass of the institution.

Doonites get tips on consumer rights
Dehradun, April 10
To discuss the theme “consumer protection”, Law College, Dehradun, conducted a conclave on the college campus here today. Director of the Public Service Authority Justice SK Jain chaired the event as well as inaugurated it as a chief guest.

Justice SK Jain, Chairman, Public Services Tribunal, Uttarakhand, lights a lamp at the inauguration of a conclave at Law College, Premnagar, near Dehradun, on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

Azhar gives tips to budding cricketers
Dehradun, April 10
Exhibiting work of his magical wrists and his leg-side play at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy today was literally reminiscent of his peak days in cricket. Stylish Hyderabad batsman Mohammad Azharuddin was in the city today and gave tips to budding cricketers too.

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin gives tips to young players at Abhimanyu Cricket Academy near Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

CT Young bag soccer title
Dehradun, April 10
CT Young edged past its mighty rival the Uttarakhand Police in the final to annex the 2nd BS Negi Memorial Prize Money State-level Football Tournament-2010 held at the Dr BR Ambedkar Stadium, Kaulagarh Road.

Rajendra Sports beat Demolition Boyz
Dehradun, April 10
Rajendra Sports today defeated Demolition Boyz by five wickets in the ongoing Second Late Shri Hukam Singh Under-17 Cricket Tournament being organised by the Uttarakhand Youth Twenty-20 Cricket Association at the Matawala Bagh cricket ground.

Sale of admission forms of Madhuban academy begins
Dehradun, April 10
The admission forms of the Madhuban Academy of Hospitality Administration and Research (MAHAR) have been on sale from today.

All’s cool under the sun

1) An old woman makes earthen pots on the roadside; 2) A girl prepares to ride through the summer heat; 3) Two girls enjoy ice candies at a rehri; 4) Boys enjoy a splash in a pond at Shuklapur village; and 5) A girl quenches her thirst with lemonade in Dehradun as the mercury soars over 38°C in the city. Tribune photos: Vinod Pundir and Anil P Rawat

Uttarakhand in deep waters
BD Kasniyal

Pitthoragarh, April 10
Uttarakhand is reeling under severe drinking and irrigation water crisis. The water crisis, which has diverse faces, is causing much hardship to women as they have to spend hours and tread long distances to get water.

Water taps have gone dry, natural sources have dried up, the rivers from where pumping schemes are running have also started showing symptoms of an impending water crisis and the hand pumps dug by the Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam are now harvesting water from further depths.

According to the Water Resource Ministry of Uttarakhand, out of total 39,967 habitations in Uttarakhand, 783 habitations, including 606 in rural areas, are dry despite government efforts to provide water as there are no water sources near these habitations.

“Out of these waterless habitations, Pauri district has the highest 137 habitations in rural areas and nine in urban areas followed by Tehri where there are 114 such rural habitations.

“In Haldwani, 40 rural localities and 16 urban localities have no drinking water source,” said Prakash Pant, Uttarakhand Water Resources Minister.

According to the drinking water survey in 2003, out of 39,967 habitations in Uttarakhand, 20,355 were fully covered, 14,091 were partially covered and 4,730 were not covered. But according to the state’s Drinking Water Ministry, on April 1, 2009, the number of fully covered localities was 26,828, partially covered localities were 9,404 and 2,948 were not covered.

“Out of our target of 1,220 localities where drinking water has to be provided, 938 projects have been completed by March 7,” claimed Pant.

Uttarakhand finds itself in a water crisis even as the summer season is just getting heated up. “We distributed water in 225 villages and 125 towns through tankers. We have dug 250 new hand pumps and 56 infiltration wells last year, but as this year’s summer starts, we are preparing for a crisis,” said an official of the Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan.

The official said that high temperatures was one of the main reasons of the crisis as traditional sources have depleted. Pumping of water has been disturbed due to decrease in electricity supply and some old pumping schemes have not been repaired.

“In as much as 38 per cent of traditional water resources in the state, discharge has gone down by 50 per cent in the past 10 years. This is a result of land being left without cultivation by local residents,” claim officials.

Haldwani is the commercial capital of Kumaon. The Guala river is the main source of water for the residents of this town.

As a result of the receding water level of the Guala, coupled with less availability of electricity, the 3.25 lakh denizens of Haldwani are getting less than 30 cusecs of water per day.

The fertile fields of Bhabar, which need 128 cusecs, are also running short of irrigation water.

In the Terai and Bhabar area of Kumaon region, even hand pumps dug at a depth have stopped yielding water.

In Nainital where the drinking water demand reaches 20 MLD per day during the peak tourist season, only 14 MLD is being supplied.

“This is because the surrounding peaks of the Naini Lake have received very low rainfall this year,” said MH Khan, Secretary, Drinking Water, Uttarakhand.

In Almora and Pitthoragarh towns, the traditional water sources have dried up. Almora town depends on the pumped water from the Kosi river which is also dying out.

“We are able to operate only two pumps out of three installed in the Kosi,” said an official of the Jal Sansthan.

“In Pitthoragarh town, we need 11.05 MLD water per day but we are getting only 9.96 MLD. 25 per cent resources in rural areas have dried up due to scant rainfall during winter,” said DK Mishra, Executive Engineer, Jal Sansthan, Pitthoragarh.

Bageshwar is one of the worst hit districts in Kumaon after Champawat. The main rivers - Gomti and Saryu - contain one-fourth of the water they contained once. As many as 61 villages in Kharahi Patti in Bageshwar district have also been hit. “If I happen to come back to my village 15 years from now, the rivers around the village would have dried up. My children would not believe that these rivers were full of water once,” said Nitin Bhatt, a native from Bageshwar who now stays in Lucknow.

Not only is the drinking water insufficient, the high-yield paddy fields in Garudh valley have dried up.

The 30,000 residents of Lohaghat, Champawat, Tanakpur and Banbasa town of Champawat district are going through their worst water crisis in the past five years.

Though Jal Sansthan officers are trying to supply water through tankers, but villages far from the main road do not have a solution to the crisis.

The blocks worst off are Gangolihat Didihat and Berinag of Pitthoragarh district. Some residents of the 24 villages of Bel Patti in Gangolihat have left their villages in search of water, said Thakur Singh Bhandari from Ganura village in Bel Patti.

Like Kumaon, the Garhwal region has also been hit. Dehradun, Mussoorie and Pauri town are suffering the most.

“In Pauri, more than a dozen traditional water sources have almost dried. The town needs 4 MLD water per day for its 45,000 residents, but only 1.5 MLD is available,” said Lalit Mohan Kothiyal, a journalist from Pauri.

The Sri Nagar Pauri pumping scheme needs to be repaired, said Kothiyal. Tehri dam has also been affected by the dip in water level. “The level in Tehri dam has fallen to 741m against 820m during April last year. If it goes down to less than 740m, electricity generation at the project will be hit,” said an official of the THDC on the condition of anonymity.

Every town in the state, including those in Terai region, is witnessing speedy depletion of water sources. According to Jal Sansthan information, almost 30 lakh people in the state are dependent on natural sources for their daily drinking water needs.

Only six lakh families in the state have a water connection while 2.5 lakh families are travelling more than 5 km to fetch water daily. The situation is getting grim every passing day.

Forest fire in Chandi Devi temple area hits Kumbh preparations
Tribune News Service

Fire rages on the hillside below the Mata Mansa Devi Temple and (below) near the Chandi Devi Temple. Tribune photos: Rameshwar Gaur

Haridwar, April 10
With temperatures nearing 40°C and the Shahi Snan of Baisakhi just four days away, the forest fire in the renowned Chandi Devi temple area has hugely affected the Kumbh atmosphere and preparations.

The huge inferno, that took in its grip the forests of the Chandi Devi falling under the Haridwar range late last night, was of grave magnitude. Had the mela police not sprung into action on time to aid the Forest Department, the fire incident could have turned into a fatal one.

Meanwhile, state cabinet-ranked Anil Baluni as representative from the state government inspected the fire area and the temple too, but didn’t find the situation alarming. He termed the fire as a normal one expected in summer season and denied the need to obtain extra and new fire-fighting equipments for the Forest Department terming the department fully geared and equipped to meet any fire exigency.

Such was the magnitude of the fire in this forest range that till today noon flames were erupting from the area reducing the forest flaura fauna to ashes and simultaneously affecting the pilgrims visit to the Mata Chandi Devi temple.

With Kumbh at its peak, the flow of devotees is in tens of thousands daily, and so a major fire incident was averted and the fire controlled nearing the temple premises.

The ropeway service also got affected due to the fire. As a precaution the service was abandoned while the movement of pilgrims was controlled via the footpath route as fire flames heat could easily be felt on the route.

Pilgrims had quite a problem in visiting the Chandi Devi temple as the ropeway was not operated due to security fears. The Mata Mansa Devi ropeway is already temporarily stopped due to last month’s accident in which a trolley got alienated from the ropeway wires due to the laxity on the part of the ropeway operator.

Several pilgrims were safely taken out from the temple premises by fire fighters as they were caught in fire circles.

Mela Deputy Inspector General Alok Sharma said the mela administration was strictly monitoring the situation and with the Kumbh Shahi bath turnout touching an all-time high, round-the-clock monitoring of the fire-prone area and co-ordination between the mela police-Forest Department and the temple authority was being maintained.

The fire first occurred at Compartment No. 7, and then engulfed the next compartment and slowly took a massive form.

The fire was reported late evening and initially controlled, but slowly after a few hours in the night the Mansa Devi forest terrain turned into flames.

To control the fire, additional fire brigades and tenders from several mela police sectors were roped in. Motorbike fire tenders were also utilised during the fire evacuating operation.

Forest Department officers point that this range is quite sensitive to fire incidents as in the past too a couple of times fire has occurred in this zone.

With torching sun rays and influx of devotees in millions thronging the Kumbh city, mela administration and Forest Department officials are in for a testing time, specially in view of the biggest Shahi Snan falling on Baisakhi.

Banking is child’s play!
Poor students of Araghar-2 manage their Hamara Bank and through it fund their education
Yamini Sunwar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 10
It is true that managing accounts is not a child’s play, but it is also true that where there is a will there is a way. Students of Araghar-2, a primary school, have proved that they can run a bank and maintain balance sheets of its customers.

The unique project of running a banking system in a school has set an example for other institutions in Doon valley. These schools are also planning to begin such schemes to help children fund their own stationery and uniforms.

Hamara Bank is the name of the bank that is run by the students of the school to cater to the problem of poor students who can save a small amount from their daily expenditure. These savings can later be used to purchase books and uniforms for them.

From making cheques, to maintaining records in the register, from collecting money to its distribution all is looked after by the students themselves.

Under the guidance of Varsha Pal, mentor and teacher at the primary school, Hamara Bank was started in January and has managed to woo 16 customers.

Students can open their account with a nominal amount of Rs 10 and are not bound to deposit any further amount.

Laxmi (11), student of class V, is the manager of the bank, while Mohammad Anas (11), also from class V, is the cashier.

The personnel at the bank keep changing every month to give a chance to everybody to take charge of the bank and understand the procedures involved.

Cashier Mohammad Anas shared some of his experiences. He said, “Initially, I faced problems in recording the debit and credit accounts of every individual. I also made a few mistakes in the collection and distribution of money, but Varsha Madam helped me in understanding and maintaining the records. I have now become perfect in the work and I am enjoying it. This is teaching me how to go about saving from an early age”.

Manager Laxmi said she enjoyed her work so much that she had decided to become a bank manager after she finished her studies.

Varsha Pal said, “I have been teaching mathematics in the school for the past three years and I found that children were facing problems in understanding a few chapters of the subject. So I thought of an innovative way to help students understand maths while building up their confidence through this bank”.

“The banking system comprises basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and simple interest that students have learnt in the due course. Most students in the school hail from financially weak families and, hence, learning the technique of saving is a remarkable idea.

“This way, students learn to save, learn basics of mathematics and lessen the burden on their parents by funding their own education. The success of the banking system has made them confident and now they aspire to become engineers and doctors,” she added.

GB Pant varsity comes to aid of farmers
To forecast crop prices before sowing and during harvesting
Rajeev Khanna
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 10
The Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology has undertaken an ambitious project aimed at informing farmers about the prices of their produces even before sowing crops.

The research project entitled “Establishing and networking of market intelligence centres in India” is under operation at the university and one of its key objectives is to make price forecasts of selected agricultural commodities well in advance of sowing and during harvesting.

According to university officials, the research team of the university recently conducted a market survey of Haldwani regulated market, a major market for the hill tomato in Uttarakhand, and analysed the wholesale price data that prevailed for the past 20 years in the market.

By using the results of econometric analysis, the scientists have forecast that wholesale prices of hill tomato in Haldwani market will be ranging from Rs 7 to Rs 7.50 per kg in June, 2010, and from Rs 7.80 to Rs 8.50 per kg in July, 2010.

In August, the wholesale prices of hill tomato in Haldwani market are expected to be around Rs 8 to Rs 10 per kg.

However, the traders of the market expect that the prices will be in the range of Rs 8 to Rs 11 per kg during these months, which are slightly on the higher side than the results of the econometric analysis.

Based on the present government policies and above results, the scientists mention that the wholesale prices of hill tomato are expected to prevail between Rs 7 to Rs 10 per kg from June to August 2010.

“The farmers who wish to undertake tomato cultivation in the coming season on their farms are thus advised to decide the acreage under tomato crop considering forecast price of tomato as well as other conditions and calculating their expected profit,” said a university official.

The traders of Haldwani market also indicated that July and August are the major arrival months of the tomato. According to the traders, the production of the tomato is expected to be higher during the current year.

Death of Sherwood College Students
Political parties seek action against institution’s top brass
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 10
The storm over the death of two students of Sherwood College in a road accident last week refuses to die down with a host of local organisations and political units seeking action against the top brass of the institution.

Activists of various student and youth wings of various political parties, along with Shiv Sena activists, held a protest at the institution today. They started the protest at the gate of the school, but a large number of protesters managed to enter the premises. This led to a commotion inside the school with children getting scared and harried. The protesters had to be forcibly evicted from the premises.

Two teachers of the school had been arrested and later released on bail in the matter pertaining to the death of two 13-year-old students of class VII in an accident near Ramnagar on April 3.

Teachers Rohit Jalal and Ashish Dwivedi had been accompanying a group of children of class VII, who had been out for their annual treks near Sitabani, when the tractor-trolley carrying 36 children had overturned killing Ibrahim Ansari of Kanpur and Anmol Bhatt of Haldwani.

The protesters demanded that while the arrested teachers had been made a scapegoat, the top brass of the institution should also be taken to task, as it was morally responsible for the incident.

Various groups, along with some agitated parents, have been seeking action against the top brass holding it responsible for making the students travel in an unsafe mode like a tractor-trolley.

Besides police investigations, District Magistrate (DM) Shailesh Bagauli has also ordered a magisterial probe under Ramnagar Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) AK Nautiyal into the death of the children.

Doonites get tips on consumer rights
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 10
To discuss the theme “consumer protection”, Law College, Dehradun, conducted a conclave on the college campus here today. Director of the Public Service Authority Justice SK Jain chaired the event as well as inaugurated it as a chief guest.

The conclave began with lighting of the lamp followed by a welcome speech of Principal Dr Rajesh Bahuguna, who highlighted the basic frame line of the event. He said the design of customer protection was a shield in the hands of a consumer, but due to the lack of awareness and detailed information this plan was used to a limited extent by people.

He said: “Today’s conclave was conducted to analyse every aspect and points of making its usage easy for the customer. The event also aims at making the process of judiciary active and spread awareness among the ignorant of its existence or work”.

The historic background as well as the present scenario of the function of consumer protection was discussed in the conclave under the guidance of the experts from the District Consumer Forum.

The dignitaries present at the conclave were Director of the District Consumer Forum RK Sharma, Secretary of the Information Department Dr Suchismita Sengupta Pandey, Chairman of Law College Jitendra Joshi, SK Kulshreshtha, and other staff members of the institute.

Azhar gives tips to budding cricketers
Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 10
Exhibiting work of his magical wrists and his leg-side play at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy today was literally reminiscent of his peak days in cricket. Stylish Hyderabad batsman Mohammad Azharuddin was in the city today and gave tips to budding cricketers too. Taking a sabbatical from politics innings, the former Indian team skipper preferred to bat and showed the good work with his magical wrists he is known for.

The batting artiste, who is currently not associated with cricket in any way, said, “I am presently not associated with the sport but if some good offer comes on my way, I will go for that. But I am not approaching anybody. If someone with good project comes to me, I am up for that. But it should really be good”.

Azhar, who has played 99 Test matches and 334 one day internationals, felt that the Twenty20 cricket would have no affect on the longer version of the game. “I don’t think that T20 in the IPL are going to affect Test matches. The Tests have their own charm and that will remain forever,” he opined.

However, he was of the view that the 40-45 days of IPL extravaganza was too long and it should be reduced to 30 days to maintain the essence of the game.

Replying to a question about Sachin Tendulkar’s unique new idea of 25-over Split Innings in the ODIs to revive ODI cricket, Azhar was of a different view. “I don’t think that splitting the ODIs into four innings of 25 overs is a viable thing to do. It is complicated and not good,” said Azhar, who had come to Dehradun with his wife Sangeeta Bijlani for watching a match in Doon School.

CT Young bag soccer title
Tribune News Service

The CT Young team with the BS Negi memorial trophy in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, April 10
CT Young edged past its mighty rival the Uttarakhand Police in the final to annex the 2nd BS Negi Memorial Prize Money State-level Football Tournament-2010 held at the Dr BR Ambedkar Stadium, Kaulagarh Road.

Manish Khatri netted the lone goal for the winning side in the 77th minute. Deepak Kandari of the Uttarakhand Police was declared Man of the Match.

Besides trophies, the winning team was given away a cheque of Rs 70,000 and the runner-up Uttarkhand Police was given Rs 50,000.

In the individual category, the best player of the tournament in different areas was also announced. Saurabh Rawat of the U’khand Police walked away with the Man of the Tournament prize with Rs 11,000.

Puran Rawat of the DFA, Nainital, emerged as the best goalkeeper, Manoj Adhikari of the U’khand Police was adjudged best defender, Manoj Khatri of CT Young was the best mid-fielder and today’s Man of the Match Deepak Khandari of the U’khand Police was also given the award of Best Defender of the Tournament.

All players were given Rs 5,000 other than mementos. The unique prize of Fair Play Trophy of Rs 5,000 was given to BC Milan.

The tournament that started on March 30 was organised by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).